Of our Emeralds cast into Yellow Night
by Chiwizard
Summary: ABANDONED
1. Oh my eyes

Wow. Who'da thunk it? Here I am again in the Sonic section!

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This idea is one I've been toying with idly in my spare time, so it's probably not very good and I won't be posting it excessively fast. This first chapter's really short, too. Just keep in mind that this fic and my other two fics in this section are COMPLETELY UNRELATED...as far as I know.

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That said, here we are. Enjoy the show!

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Disclaimer: Chiwizard does not own Sonic

Claimer: Chiwizard owns all self-invented characters and stuff

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He blinked, holding a hand over his eyes as they adjusted. What was making all of that light…oh. Well, duh. The sun had risen while he was dozing. Not to mention there was a perfectly clear sky this morning…

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Knuckles the Echidna, Guardian of the Shrine of the Master Emerald and jewel ensconced therein, located on scenic Angel Island (currently heading south-by-southwest over the Indian Ocean), yawned and sat up from his usual night-sleeping position of being sprawled on the top two steps of the stairs.

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For someone as hyper-aggressive as Knuckles was (according to certain blue hedgehogs, at least), the echidna tended to lead a very relaxed life style. Most of his time was actually spent asleep or half-asleep. Some days, the total amount of movement he made was to scoot onto the top platform from the staircase in the morning, only to roll back down in the evening, without even taking the time to get on his feet and walk.

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Yet whenever something or someone intruded on his very peaceful state of existence, Knuckles would instantly be ready to punch the idiotic thing/person into next Tuesday. Very rarely were outsiders tolerated on Knuckles' turf. Even fewer were able to come back for repeat performances. Even less then that was the number of people permitted to stay for extended periods on the island.

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There were a few exceptions to this: Sonic and his friends for one. Although Knuckles tolerated Sonic mostly because the hedgehog kept coming back no matter how many times he was bodily 'escorted' off the island.

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Recently, there had been a new addition to Knuckles' very short list of exceptions. The Echidna turned his head to watch as that addition uncurled and yawned from its own sleeping place not far away.

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Quill was…well, not even Quill himself knew exactly what kind of creature he was. An intelligent, sort of cat-shaped animal that could fly thanks to a pair of white wings on his back. But he was also very young, and had wandered onto the island over half a year ago, exhausted and nearly starved to death.

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Knuckles might have reacted a little better to Quill's arrival if he hadn't first found the child asleep on top of the Master Emerald. Still, things had worked themselves out in the end.

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As the Echidna watched, Quill stretched out his wings a bit with a few flaps before launching himself into the air. The child passed over him with a cheerful chirp as he fluttered off in search of breakfast. Knuckles took the time and effort to stand up and look around for a minute before actually walking to the platform where the Master Emerald rested. Nothing different from last night that he could see. It looked like this was going to be just another ordinary day on Angel Island.


	2. Beware the facts of life!

Okay, the last chapter was short and wasn't very interesting.

...This one ain't either of those things. Enjoy!

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Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic

Claimer: I own made-up stuff I invented, like Quill

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Basic Fact of Life Number Seven: Never assume it is going to be just another ordinary day. That always causes something unusual to happen. And depending on where you are when the assumption is made, the something that happens will range from 'Damn Annoying' to 'Hello Armageddon'.

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In Knuckles' case, it was the latter.

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Things had been normal enough during the morning. Today he had chosen to remain lying on his side in front of the Master Emerald, head propped up on one elbow, eyes closed. Down at the old stone pathway leading to the bottom of the staircase, Quill was spending the day as he usually did - running around and generally enjoying life like only a child could.

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It must have been just around noon when, in the middle of batting around a stray leaf or two caught by the breeze, Quill froze. Knuckles opened his eyes at the sudden lack of noise to see the child sitting and looking this way and that, ears swiveling wildly. The Echidna sat up straight, concerned with this sudden onset of wary caution.

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Quill abruptly turned and dashed up the stairs towards him.

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"Wind say something big is coming, Red Hand," Quill cried urgently.

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'Red Hand' was the child's name for Knuckles, and all the previous times that he had claimed that the 'wind' had told him anything, Quill had been right, so Knuckles jumped up.

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"What? Where? How many?" the Echidna demanded.

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"Wind does not say what, but it close and is lots," Quill said.

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That didn't sound good…Knuckles turned and stepped up the Master Emerald, placing a hand on it's shining surface as he tried to figure out what was going on. The large jewel was at least semi-sentient, and through it's many powers Knuckles could see different things, keep detailed watch on the entire island, and sometimes do other…things. It was hard to explain in words, even to himself.

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The Master Emerald showed him that Quill was correct, as usual. There were many 'things' coming. They had already reached the bottom of the island and were now gaining altitude to get to the top. Knuckles thought he caught a far-off glimpse of metal before the vision faded. There was also a sense of apprehension that came with this vision, unlike any sort of feeling that they had given him before.

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"Hmm…" Knuckles said.

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"What does Shine Stone say?" Quill asked.

"Whatever is coming, its heading this way, and it's coming fast," Knuckles said slowly, "Get under cover, Quill. We'll have to see how this plays out."

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Obediently, Quill flapped his way down to his usual hidey-hole. It was a hole or something in the stonework below the Master Emerald's platform, he knew, though Knuckles had never really tried to look for it. Barely was the child out of sight before the sound of engines could be heard.

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The Echidna nearly blanched when the source of the noise came into view. It looked like an entire military base on-the-go had decided to invade his island! Oh well, the more robots, the more piles of junked parts to be tossed off the side of Angel Island later. Knuckles walked down the staircase, partly to get a longer look at the idiocy that had convened on his turf, and partly because he was a little confused that he was being ignored.

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There was only one non-mechanical in the whole bunch - some sort of scientist-looking human - and he had his back to the shrine, busily giving out orders to the robots on where to unload various things.

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Knuckles coughed and cleared his throat loudly, waiting for the human to notice him. Finally the human turned around to see where all the noise was coming from.

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"And just what do you think you are doing on MY island?" Knuckles inquired.

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For him, the question was pretty non-aggressive. The human raised an eyebrow in seeming astonishment and disbelief.

"This is your island?" the human inquired.

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"Yes," Knuckles growled, "This is MY island. And I don't take kindly to trespassers on MY island. Now, pack up your little three-ring circus, _buddy_, and get off of MY island."

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"Oh, do forgive me," the human said with a smirk and a sarcastic edge to his voice, "I didn't think anyone lived on this island." 

He made a sort of waving motion with one hand as he continued, "But it is so scenic, I could not help but stop to take a look at it as I was passing by. You certainly have a very lovely home…"

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Knuckles heard the faint sound of metal scraping over stone and whirled around, and sure enough one of the robots was standing there. It raised its long, reinforced-steel arms and attempted to flatten him with them.

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The robot failed, of course, because Knuckles swiftly got out of the way of the attack before leaping up and punching the robot in the head as hard as he could. The machine dropped in a heap, head shattered into pieces.

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Four other robots attacked now, working together to try and turn the Echidna into a red smear in the dirt. Knuckles dodged their attacks and smashed them like he did the first one, but these four turned out to be just a diversion.

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Before he could avoid them, a pair of big metal arms grabbed Knuckles and he was suddenly locked in a bear-hug by another of the robots. His arms were pinned at his sides and he could not get them free! The Echidna growled and struggled and kicked futilely as he was held tight a full four feet above the ground.

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"The most interesting bit of this lovely isle," the human said as he stood in front of the enraged guardian, "Is that Master Emerald sitting up there. I presume you have some sort of claim on it as well, hmm? Too bad! Now it's power shall help the cause of science!" 

Knuckles immediately did all that he could to break free in order to snap this human intruder into little pieces. He felt the metal arms holding him begin to give way, but at that very moment there was a crackle of electricity.

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Then a thousand volts of it were being pumped into him.

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He gritted his teeth and forced himself not to scream despite the pain. Knuckles was uncertain if he had succeeded in that, but the Echidna passed out all the same. At least temporarily. He hadn't been unconscious more than an hour or two, he thought, when he finally managed to open his eyes again and noticed how long the shadows had gotten.

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This piece of human scum worked fast, Knuckles had to admit: already the platform at the top of the stairs was covered in strange machinery. The Master Emerald's natural glow seemed out of place amidst all that technology.

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There was no sign of Quill anywhere that he could see, though, so hopefully the child was still safe and hidden.

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"Awake again already, are you?" the human said from where he stood, a short ways away from where Knuckles was still pinned in place by that robot.

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"What is it you want? Who are you?" Knuckles demanded, still very angry.

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"So stubborn and rude, how very impolite you are! Speaking that way to your guest!"

"You are NOT a guest, or even welcome in the slightest," Knuckles snarled.

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"Maybe not," the human shrugged nonchalantly, "But what I am is a genius in the field of energy manipulation. My name is Doctor Kavo Minastron. What is yours, my dear Echidna? That is, if you even _have_ a name."

When all he got in reply was a death-glare, Minastron shrugged again, moving onto a new topic of conversation.

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"As for what I want…I am here, Mister Echidna, to prove a theory."

"A…theory?"

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Of all the answers Knuckles had been expecting, this wasn't one of them. It was so innocent-sounding that the Echidna was struck speechless.

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"Oh yes," Minastron said, delighted as only a scientist could be when they had someone's undivided attention, "As I said to you before, I am a leading expert in the field of energy manipulation. This is a very useful science, I can assure you - calling down lightning strikes to precise locations in order to supply homes of the common person with electricity. You do know what electricity is, right?"

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"Hey, I may live up here, but I'm not an idiot," Knuckles snapped.

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"Of course you're not," Minastron said, and Knuckles growled in the back of his throat at the scientist's condescending tone, "Now where was I? Oh yes!

"Recently I have come into possession of a most unusual source of energy. It was fascinatingly complicated, and yet I may never decipher the proper way to harness and control its full potential. But researching it lead me to some extremely interesting information."

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Minastron pulled something out of an inner pocket of his jacket and held it up for the other to see.

"That's a…Chaos Emerald!" Knuckles exclaimed.

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"Oh good, you _have_ heard of them! That saves me the inconvenience of explaining what it does. But it really does not interest me anymore," Minastron said as he passed the glittering pink jewel from hand to hand, "For while I was researching it I found the information on the Master Emerald to be far more enlightening."

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Knuckles kicked involuntarily at the mention of his charge. Minastron stepped away, walking towards the high platform now overflowing with different machines.

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"Especially when I discovered that it possesses infinite levels of energy," Minastron continued, "Once I isolate the power core of the Master Emerald, I will use it to prove that there IS such a thing as perpetual energy! I will become famous. End all energy crisis on the planet! They'll call me a hero! But first I will need to reduce the excess mass that this lovely wellspring of energy seems to be using…"

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The scientist's voice faded into low muttering as he continued walking off.


	3. Not a very bright idea

Sigh...yet another fic that no one notices...

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I could have waited another couple of days for you all to get back to your computers to read this thing, but...sue me, I'm bored and lazy. Read the chapter!

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Disclaimer: Sonic not owned by me

Claimer: Stuff I invented owned by me - i.e. Quill, Minastron, etc, etc...

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As a rule, Knuckles preferred to keep things simple.

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For example, he was the Guardian of the Master Emerald. Nothing fancy or confusing about that. He guarded it, and the shrine, and the island. Just him.

He had guarded it for all his life, his ancestors had guarded it since the island first rose into the air, and there would be others to continue guarding it when Knuckles was gone. Absolutely nothing complicated about that!

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But despite the fact that the Echidna preferred his more simplistic viewpoint, he was not at all ignorant. Even though this insane scientist was speaking in scientific mumbo-jumbo, Knuckles could follow it reasonably well. And he didn't like what he was hearing, not one bit.

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Struggle as he would, the robot holding him refused to let go. So Knuckles stopped struggling in order to wait for a better opportunity, and was forced to watch helplessly as Minastron went ahead with his grand plan.

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The human had gone behind some kind of metal shielding that had been set up during his 'explanation'.

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The Chaos Emerald, interestingly enough, Minastron had placed on a hastily erected stand in between himself and the Master Emerald's platform.

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Before Knuckles had time enough to wonder at this, Minastron started up the machines that now half-blocked the Master Emerald from view. What was he planning to do, drain out the energy of the Master Emerald? No, the human knew that the Emerald had infinite energy, that was the reason he was here in the first place…so what was he doing?

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Black electricity crackled around the machines, building slowly. Some small black sparks shot off, but they disappeared when they came into contact with any nearby objects. The objects, whether they were stone or plant, withered and turned a hideous black at the touch of the sparks. Not a good sign.

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'Isolate the power core…reduce the excess mass…is he going to try breaking the Master Emerald into pieces with that strange energy?' Knuckles wondered.

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"This is negative energy that I'm charging up, in case you were wondering Mister Echidna," Minastron called, raising his voice over the sound of the machines going to work, "Anti-Energy, really. The opposite of energy, including the variety these Emeralds produce. Just wait until you see what it can do at full power!"

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That was more than enough information for Knuckles. He couldn't let this crazed idiot go through with this farce of an experiment! Summoning every last bit of strength he had, Knuckles kicked and slammed the back of his head into the robot that still held his arms pinned.

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After enough head-butting, the machine began tottering unsteadily, and one of its arms loosened its grip - just enough! Knuckles yanked his left arm free and made short work of both metal arms with his fist, the rest of the robot soon following.

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Before his feet touched the dirt below, the machines above finished charging up the so-called Anti-Energy. Bolts of black lightning were being aimed into the Master Emerald even as Knuckles hit the ground running, not really thinking, just wanting to do something, anything, to stop this!

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Something else happened as well. The pink Chaos Emerald began glowing, the jewel's natural light growing piercingly bright within seconds, even as the Echidna passed it. The same thing was happening to the Master Emerald and also, though Knuckles did not know and really couldn't have cared less at the time, to the other six Chaos Emeralds, all over the planet.

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Knuckles had only just reached the bottom of the stairs before the Master Emerald's glow turned from its normally vibrant green to a paler, more sickly looking color.

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A wave of the same light pulsed outwards from the large jewel, and Knuckles halted in his tracks as his mind and body was suddenly pummeled with a feeling of sheer, utterly indescribable _agony_.

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He fell, clutching his head and crying out as the sensation only got worse. An unfortunate side-effect of his lifelong attunement to the energy of the Master Emerald was that in this instance, he could far too clearly feel it scream.

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The large jewel had, in past eras and events, acted very much alive and aware, and it was, in its own way, a living, thinking creature, and what was being done to it was beyond any hope of accurate description. As wave after wave of its incredible energy pulsed out in an unfortunately natural reaction to its pain, everything with enough sensitivity to it in the entire local solar system reacted in similar agony.

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Faintly, nearly all drowned out by the other noises going on, the sound of glass cracking came. Nearly invisible lines drew themselves all over the Emerald in sharp, jagged patterns, as the Emerald's light grew paler and paler with each outward pulse of energy.

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Then the Master Emerald exploded.


	4. And then things got worse

Hmph. No one reads this story, apparently.

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Well, too bad! I'm updating anyway so THERE!

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Disclaimer: Sonic not owned here

Claimer: Quill and Minastron are mine

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The Master Emerald blew apart with the force of a small atomic bomb, firing its pieces like deadly shrapnel and each piece going outwards at a speed greater than Mach One. The sonic boom this resulted in blew all the machinery located directly on the high platform into smithereens. Some nearby trees fell over, or were ripped up and also tossed into the air.

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The machinery on the ground was mostly wrecked by the blast and then by falling debris, but whether by luck or by some last favor the Emerald gave to its guardian Knuckles was unharmed.

The Echidna was a little too busy recovering to take notice of this.

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Right at that very moment, Knuckles felt worse then he had ever felt in his entire life. His head swam, his legs and arms felt like rubber noodles, and any movement sent his stomach spiraling with nausea. Even though he couldn't see straight, though, the sense of failure he was feeling made his physical discomforts seem like nothing at all.

The Master Emerald was destroyed, and he hadn't been able to stop it. Some guardian he was!

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Even as he lay there, reeling dizzying in both anger and pain, Minastron walked past him and went up the stairs, very casually. Behind his little reinforced barrier the scientist had been perfectly safe, and now he was examining the top platform, a small grabbing device in hand.

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"There we are!" the human said, delighted, and used the machine to grab something out of the small hole where the Master Emerald usually sat, "At last! The source of infinite energy is mine! The power core of the Master Emerald is mine! I am the greatest genius in the world! Now I - AUGH!"

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Weak as he was, Knuckles still managed to look up when he heard the human scream. The reason was soon very obvious: little Quill was currently latched onto the scientist's head and sinking his small claws and little fangs into the human's face.

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"GET OFF ME, YOU FILTHY LITTLE RAT!" shrieked Minastron as he held whatever he had picked up with the grabbing machine away, trying to bat Quill off with his other hand.

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Undeterred, the child pummeled Minastron's head with his wings as he moved towards the hand holding the object. There was a loud squealing screech from the human when Quill sank his fangs into the wrist, causing the scientist to involuntarily toss the object into the air. Knuckles had gotten up again and was able to see clearly as Quill swooped down and deftly snatched the item out of the air with his jaws.

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The child was low enough that the Echidna could see _exactly_ what he was holding. Roughly egg-shaped, a dull greenish color and only just barely glowing, it was a piece of the Master Emerald.

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"If that is the power core…of _course!_ That has to be the center of the Master Emerald!" Knuckles exclaimed.

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Quill fluttered lower, clearly wondering what he should do now. Knuckles had made no secret about his protectiveness of the Master Emerald, and the child's first inclination was to return the piece to its rightful guardian.

"That piece is MINE!" howled the enraged Minastron as he stumbled down the stairs.

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The robots that were undamaged enough to respond abruptly rose and headed for Quill. Some could fly, thanks to rocket packs on their backs, and the child flapped up higher in an attempt to avoid them.

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Adrenalin surged through his veins, giving Knuckles just enough of an energy boost to leapt up after the robots in the air. One he broke in half on the way up, and he landed on the one nearest Quill and smashed into pieces it midair.

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For a few seconds after this, he and Quill were high overhead both the island and the miniature army that had invaded it. In those seconds, Knuckles came to a very radical decision. Radical for himself, at least.

"Quill, take that piece and fly. Fly away! Find someplace to hide, as far as you can go!"

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The child shook his head, not wanting to just fly away and leave Knuckles alone with the robots and the crazed human scientist below.

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"I'll take care of these, and then I'll come find you," Knuckles said, his tone of voice urgent and brooking no argument, "Until then you need to take care of the Master Emerald's core for me. Hide it, and guard it! I'm depending on you!"

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Very reluctantly, the child nodded, unable to speak with his mouth full of the Master Emerald piece. Quill turned and began flapping upwards, vanishing into a nearby cloudbank. Knuckles turned his attention back to the robots below.

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There were six more that had working rocket packs. They'd be able to catch up with Quill…if they weren't taken care of. And unfortunately for them, Knuckles now had a LOT of frustration to work out.

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The six were smashed in half before Knuckles let himself drop to the ground, panting. Minastron and over a dozen of the non-flying robots surrounded him. The human was sneering.

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"Your little pet rat might have escaped for now, but I'll soon catch up to him again. And as for you, I should have just killed you from the start. A mistake which I will correct now."

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The robots raised their arms up, ready to smash the Echidna underneath their heavy metal limbs. Adrenaline rush subsiding, Knuckles was practically falling over by this point, and already had one hand on the ground to brace himself with.

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That was how he noticed the first weak tremors. Knuckles smirked.

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"That wasn't the only mistake you've made today, human," the Echidna said with a sudden, sharp bark of laughter, "Or, did it never really occur to you what power _holds this island up?_"

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Minastron opened his mouth to say something, hesitated, and then glanced over towards the empty platform. The ground rumbled loudly as the last part of the Master Emerald's energy in the island was used up.

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Then Angel Island plummeted downwards, dropping out of the sky, falling like a rock. A really, really BIG rock.


	5. Where did everybody go?

Ugh...well, despite the COMPLETE LACK OF INTEREST, I'm too tired from school starting to not post this up. Hey, maybe you'll be tired too, and come read, and become happy from reading this fic, or something...dammit I need sleep.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic

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"We're almost there!" called Tails as he fiddled with the controls of the Tornado, "How are you guys doing back there?"

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"I'm okay," Sonic called back over the sound of rushing wind, "But Shadow still looks a little green around the gills to me."

"Shut up," growled the black hedgehog.

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"Seriously, if you throw up again, try not to hit the plane, okay? Tails just waxed it."

"Hah. And hah," Shadow replied, "Oh, and did I mention: hah."

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Tails sighed at their bickering. Though Shadow had been looking a little airsick, and though Sonic was just pestering the other to get Shadow's mind off his queasiness, the urge to slap some sense into the two of them got almost irresistible sometimes. 

"I wonder what could have happened, anyway," Tails said, thinking out loud.

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"Maybe this is part of some plot by Egg-head," Sonic mused, "Though I wonder what he could have done to do something like this. Did you remember to bring the Chaos Emerald, Tails?"

"Yeah, I got it right here," Tails said, holding up a metal box.

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Sonic took the box from his fox friend and lifted the lid. Inside was the dark blue Chaos Emerald - or at least what used to be the dark blue Chaos Emerald. After that really weird and horrible thing, whatever it was, happened, the Emerald had begun acting funny.

It was glowing with a slow, steady pulse, and the Emerald seemed to be almost out of focus. It looked less solid, more like a oblong-shaped dark-blue lump of light, and despite Chaos Control being the fastest way to their destination Sonic didn't dare to use the Emerald's power until they figured out what was wrong with it.

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Shadow, with whom Sonic was sharing the back seat of the Tornado's biplane mode with, gritted his jaw and shivered violently when the Chaos Emerald was brought into view.

"_Please_ put that thing away," the Ultimate Life Form muttered between tightly clenched teeth.

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Sonic latched the lid of the box back down.

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"Aren't you getting any better, Shadow?" Sonic asked.

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Despite his earlier comments, he _was_ worried about Shadow. Sonic had recovered from whatever-the-hell-it-had-been fairly quickly, but the black one seemed to be getting worse - especially when the mutated Chaos Emerald was near him.

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"I would get better if you didn't keep flaunting that thing around me," Shadow snapped.

"You're really that sensitive to it, huh," Sonic said as he eyed the box in his hands.

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"I was designed to be able to harness and handle that energy," Shadow agreed as he was finally able to open his eyes and relax a little bit, "Now that it's…I don't know, _corrupted_ like this, I can't go near it at all. Don't you feel anything from it?"

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"Sort of, I guess…but **I** didn't throw up. That was you. And into Amy's flowerbed, ho boy! You are totally dead and roasted in her books, Faker!"

"Faker yourself," Shadow snapped, but there was no real anger in his voice. 

Tails sighed good-naturedly, before the instruments in front of him began beeping.

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"Okay you guys, Angel Island should be right on the other side of this cloud bank," Tails reported.

"Unless Knuckles decided to move it somewhere else," Sonic said, "It would be just like him, too."

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The plane passed through the cloud bank and came out on the other side. There was nothing but open air waiting for them. 

"Aw, man. Knux DID move it! Now where are we gonna find him!"

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"Uh, Sonic?" Shadow said, "I don't think we have to search very hard. Look down."

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Down below was an island, complete with mountains and jungle, where no such island was supposed to be.

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"Angel Island **fell!** This is like the fifth time already!"

"I think it's just the third," Tails said as he banked the plane, dropping altitude and looking for a place to land near the island's edge.

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The landing was a little awkward, and when the three of them stepped outside the plane they realized why. Angel Island had landed crookedly, and there was a slight yet disconcerting slant to the ground now.

"Angel Island must have landed on top of some sort of underwater ridge," Tails said, "Otherwise it probably would have sunk: the ocean is very deep here. But the island didn't land too well, I guess."

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"Think Knux is still around?" Sonic asked as he lead the way to the shrine, "If the island's down here, then something must have broken the Master Emerald. He usually bolts right after the pieces."

"I think he might still be here," Shadow said, looking ahead.

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There were several wrecked machines on the ground in front of the Master Emerald's shrine. The whole area looked like a war zone, and the Master Emerald was conspicuously absent. But the shrine itself was smoldering and smoking in a way that had nothing to do with a sudden crash landing in the ocean.

"Was there some kind of invasion here? These aren't Egg-head's bots," Sonic said as he kicked at a nearby robot.

"Let's look around for clues," Tails suggested.

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The three of them split up, hunting around for any sort of explanation to this strange event, and also for any sign of Knuckles, if he was still on the island for some reason.

Shadow was the one that found him, but only with a lucky glance in the right direction.

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"What in the name of - Tails! I need you!" he yelled.

The fox bolted right over, and gasped when he saw what Shadow had found.

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Here was Knuckles, all right: unconscious and hanging limply from a tree branch. It was where he had been tossed during the island's fall. Tails floated up and dislodged the Echidna as gently as he could, and Shadow caught Knuckles when he fell.

"What could have taken out Knuckles, I wonder?" Tails asked worriedly as they carefully laid the unconscious guardian on the grass in the sunlight, "Whatever happened…that was _yesterday_. Remember? I had to spend all of last night rewiring the Cyclone to work without the Chaos Emerald."

"I was a little incapacitated at the time," Shadow said.

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"What was all that yelling about?" Sonic asked as he walked up, holding something in one hand, "Hey, you found Knux!"

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"Brilliant deduction, Faker," Shadow drawled.

"Very funny," Sonic said, "But I actually over here to see if we have another of those boxes for carrying freaked-over Chaos Emeralds in."

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"You found another Chaos Emerald?" Tails asked.

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"Its behind a tree, that way," the blue hedgehog said with a shake of his head in the proper direction, "I think it was the pink one - either that, or there's a giant, mutated pink firefly over there. I would have brought it back myself, but it gave me a serious case of the willies when I tried to pick it up!"

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"I think I have another box in the Tornado, I'll go get it," Tails said, jumping into the air and spinning his tails to fly back to the plane.

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Not a minute later, Knuckles began stirring. Sonic, not wanted to miss the opportunity, leaned over the Echidna.

"Wakey wakey, Knux! This isn't the time to be sleeping in, lazy-butt!" the blue hedgehog laughed.

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Knuckles responded without waiting to sit up or open his eyes.

"When I can move again, remind me to beat you senseless."

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With some assistance, the Echidna was able to sit upright. He tried to stand up, but his legs refused to hold him and he landed on his rear. Sonic was almost falling over with laughter, safely out of arm's reach of the now very-ticked-off Knuckles. The blue hedgehog stopped laughing when he was discretely pushed over by Shadow, a sight that seemed to both calm and amuse the Echidna.

Knuckles glanced towards the Master Emerald's platform and instantly all traces of good humor were wiped away.

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"And here I was hoping that it was a nightmare…" he muttered, attempting to get his legs straightened so that he could try standing again.

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Tails came out of the trees holding another box. Inside the box was what had previously been the pink Chaos Emerald, now in the same state as the dark blue Chaos Emerald. Shadow took a dozen less-than-discrete steps away from the Emerald, and even Sonic looked a little disturbed.

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"What is that?" Knuckles asked, confused and suddenly extremely uncomfortable.

"It used to be a Chaos Emerald," Tails said, closing and sealing the lid of the box, "The same thing happened to ours, and probably to the other five as well. It must be a reaction to whatever happened to the Master Emerald…"

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"So, spill it," Sonic said, "What happened!"

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The Echidna took another look at the empty platform, and sighed.

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"It was this crazy scientist that happened. He used some kind of black energy…kept talking about how it was going to make him famous…"

He paused, clearly reluctant to relive the experience, even as a memory.

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"What did the black energy do to the Master Emerald?" Tails asked.

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"I think this might be what it did," Shadow said as he slowly and carefully walked back over.

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In his hands was a piece of dirty-looking crystal. It might have been green at some point - it still had a greenish cast to it - but now it was mostly gray-white. It was a sliver only a little bit smaller than the hedgehog's hands, and Knuckles took it with a mute, stricken expression.

"Is **that** the Master Emerald?" Tails asked.

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"A piece of it," Sonic said, "It looks kinda…dead. No energy."

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"But…even when broken into pieces, all the pieces of the Master Emerald have energy!" Tails protested, "And it had unlimited energy - where's the energy, if its not in the Master Emerald's pieces."

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"The power core," Knuckles murmured.

"Pardon?"

"That's what that - **_scientist_** - was after," Knuckles said, making the word 'scientist' sound like a curse word, "He wanted the source of the Master Emerald's energy. The…middle piece."

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"Then we need to get it back!" Sonic said, but hesitated when the Echidna shook his head.

"Doesn't he have it?"

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"No. It's safe. A friend of mine is hiding it."

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There was a hesitant silence, before Sonic broke it.

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"Since when do you let anyone else guard even a single piece of YOUR Emerald!" Sonic asked, incredulous, "You're, like, obsessed with not letting even a stray leaf landing less than an inch away!"

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"Shut up," Knuckles growled, "Just because I don't trust YOU to guard my Emerald doesn't mean -"

"Aha! I understand everything now!" Tails cried suddenly, getting everyone's attention.

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"**That's** why the Chaos Emeralds started acting so weird!"

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To further prove his story, Tails pulled out the second box - the one with the blue Emerald in it - and placed it next to the one holding the pink Emerald. Shadow took a wary step back as the pink Emerald was revealed again.

"The Master Emerald controls the powers of the seven Chaos Emeralds," Tails explained, "The effect increases due to proximity, depending on the number of Emeralds in each location…but without the Master Emerald's full presence the chaotic energies begin to lose focus…and if all seven Chaos Emeralds lose control of their energy at the same rate - it could mean the end of the world!"

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"It only 'could' mean the end of the world?" Sonic asked sarcastically, "Well then, I guess it could be worse…"

"Are you sure all the Chaos Emeralds are decaying at the same rate?" Knuckles asked.

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In response, Tails held up both boxes, one in each hand, with their lids open. Except for color, they were identical in shape and timing of their pulsing light.

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All of a sudden, the two boxes quivered in Tails' hands, before both Chaos Emeralds actually leaped out at each other. They collided midair and seemed to melt into each other, turning into some kind of jewel that was half dark blue and half pink, glowing with a faster pulse than either had before.

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At the same time, Tails shivered, Knuckles and Sonic both went rigid, and from behind the group there was a soft 'thump' noise as Shadow fainted.

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"Correct me if I'm wrong," Knuckles said after another couple of minutes had passed, "But I think things just got worse."


	6. Remember this guy?

Okay, because one person likes me enough to give me candy (yay lollipop!), I will post another chapter

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Granted, its a tiny filler chapter, but a chapter's a chapter, right? Maybe so. Okay, here we go!

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Disclaimer: Authoress does NOT own Sonic

Claimer: Authoress DOES own Quill and Minastron

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It was a long flight to get to any sort of land, and Quill was panting hard when he finally reached the shore. Here, the terrain was rocky and dotted with mainly sparse bushes.

Quill didn't have time to stop and rest, though. He had to hide what was left of Red Hand's Shine Stone from the Bad Laughing Man, quick!

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There was a nearby city-place, filled with beings like Bad Laughing Man. But near the city-place was a sizable mountain, with many small caves that were perfect for hiding in.

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The cave Quill chose was actually a small tunnel, leading into a wide stone chamber. There was a spring of water and much soft moss growing in the chamber, so Quill left the Shine Stone on one of the many short stone shelves as he drank a much-needed drink of water.

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When Quill was refreshed, he returned to the shelf and looked the Shine Stone over. It was as small as a bird's egg, and Quill had almost swallowed it several times during his flight. The thought of eggs reminded Quill how hungry he was, and so he headed back down the tunnel, knowing that leaving the Shine Stone in such a secret place was the best way for him to protect it.

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Quill found something more interesting then any bird's nest on the mountainside, though. It was a little bit bigger than what was left of the Shine Stone, gray in color, and it smelled slightly like Red Hand. Quill had found a piece of the Shine Stone!

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Eagerly, he brought it back and set it next to the glowing lump. Gently, he nudged the dead piece to touch the Shine Stone.

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Like magic, the glow of the Shine Stone extended to the piece, before it melted into the Shine Stone. The Shine Stone's glow was slightly weaker now, but still getting stronger, and the Stone itself was a little bit bigger.

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Quill grinned, which showed off all his sharp teeth. He would find all the pieces of the Shine Stone, put the great treasure back together, and when Red Hand came for it he would be so happy! The Shine Stone would definitely be happy when it was all big again, Quill thought, and hurried off to find more pieces.

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Behind him, the child neglected to notice how, peeping out of the moss growing on the shelf where the Master Emerald's core was resting, the beginnings of what looked to be grass were starting to show themselves.


	7. Getting into gear

K, let me start by clarifying some general stuff:

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1. No, Quill is not a Chao. He is a cat-like creature who has wings and acts pretty much like a little kid, which he is.

2. Anti-energy is just as real as a cut gem the size of a twelve-year-old that generates perpetual energy.

3. About the grass - well, how do you think Angel Island manages to stay green and wonderful when its moving around into different climates all the time?

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Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Ri2. After all, I can't interest anyone is a story they don't understand, now can I?

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Disclaimer: Sonic is not mine

Claimer: Quill and Minastron are both mine

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The rest of the day was surprisingly orderly. Shadow woke up on his own…eventually…and then he spent the afternoon with Sonic and Knuckles, scouring Angel Island for Master Emerald shards. These they piled in the Master Emerald's slot on top of its shrine, for lack of a better place to put them.

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Tails was working on the Chaos Emerald problem.

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First, he made a container for the dark blue/pink Emerald, shielded hopefully well enough for Shadow's sake. Then he started scanning for the other five Emeralds, as well as for information on the Doctor Minastron Knuckles had talked about.

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The Emeralds were already starting to be big headline news: the gray Emerald had been put on display in a museum, and therefore had started 'melting' right in front of a group of kids on a field trip.

There were also plenty of reports on how many people, apparently sensitive to the powers of the Emeralds, had suffered headaches, dizziness, and fainting spells when the Master Emerald had exploded.

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But absolutely nowhere could Tails locate information on the weird Doctor Minastron. He had to settle for starting up a program to determine where all the chunks of Dead Master Emerald pieces had been blasted away to, which was not an easy task.

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"I think we've got all the pieces that were still on the island now," Shadow was saying as the two hedgehogs and the echidna approached the plane later that afternoon.

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"Less than half," Knuckles replied, his tone sour.

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"_Relax_, Red!" Sonic cried, "I mean, its not like Egg-head is going around grabbin' the other pieces! Nobody's gonna want some useless, broken - HEY! Is that any way to treat someone trying to make you feel better!"

"I'd feel even more better if you'd just hold still!"

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"Any progress?" Shadow inquired of Tails, trying to ignore the usual Knuckles-vs.-Sonic stuff.

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"Only a little, and its not good," Tails sighed, "We were dead-on with the idea that all the Chaos Emeralds are decaying at the same rate. And as for that Minastron guy, its like he doesn't exist!"

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"Trust me, he does…until I get my fists on him, he does," Knuckles growled.

"Great," Sonic cut in, "Of course, since we can't find him, this guy's gonna practically live _forever_…"

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Knuckles shot the blue hedgehog a sour look. Even if Sonic hadn't picked up on it yet, it was fairly obvious that the Master Emerald Guardian blamed himself for all of this happening at all. If only he'd been a better guardian, Minastron wouldn't have gotten past him to almost destroy the Master Emerald…

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"Okay, sitting around wishing this didn't happen ain't gonna fix this," Sonic said next (maybe he HAD picked up on it after all), "We need to find the rest of the Master Emerald and put it back together before the Chaos Emeralds do something weird and more than likely really bad. We can still use that old scanner to find the pieces, right Tails?"

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"I think so," Tails blinked, "The range'll be really short, since the pieces aren't giving off any power right now…"

"Okay, so we'll hunt down the pieces while you figure out that Minastron guy. Maybe he's with GUN or Eggman."

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"…You want to hack into the GUN database?" Shadow wondered.

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Sonic shrugged.

"Why not?"

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Shadow smirked.

"And here I never would have picked such a laid-back slacker to be such a conniving military mind," the black hedgehog answered.

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"Who're ya calling a slacker!"

"Sonic is right, he's no slacker," Knuckles cut in.

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The Echidna waited just long enough for Sonic to shoot Shadow a triumphant look before adding, "He's _actually_ a lazy idiot who can run fast on occasion."

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Sonic made a face as the other three laughed. This laugh was sorely needed to raise their spirits, which it did. Unfortunately it was the last time they would be so carefree for a while.


End file.
